Sheet Stealing
by Kinetic Dream
Summary: Living with someone else is never easy, especially with someone of the opposite sex and you're sharing the same bed, but problems can always be worked out, right?  One Shot


Kin Notes: I really can't believe I'm posting a Digimon story. Heck, I can't believe I'm posting a story at all. But the fact that after a mild search I didn't find any stories relating to this most epic of struggles between men and women (or men and men, or women and women for that matter) for dominance that has existed since the first wives took the animal skins that covered their Neanderthalic husbands.

This is a story of two lovers, struggling to make ends meet as they enter a rough patch in their shared lives. It's a story of hurt feelings and a pair of wounded hearts, the unbreakable bond that exists between the two of them, a lesson in humility, plus a dash of humor and ultimate justice.

Well maybe not the last one, but the ending isn't too bad.

Rated T for some course language and light name calling on the part of Taichi, oh, shame, shame… and implied sexual themes.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

On with the show…

--------------------------------

Sheet Stealing

Taichi Yagami flopped into his bed that night with an exasperated sigh, feeling the chill that lingered outside the cozy house begin to seep its way into his body as he finally stopped moving. All he'd done since leaving this morning was run and work constantly, first to the office to be yelled at for being late, even though it was more the fault of his girlfriend for keeping him up the night before, then out to lunch to meet with a few of the shareholders who'd made it into town, then back to the office to wrap up additional paperwork. That wrap up of course had turned into a marathon affair, something more always needing to be done in case he wasn't able to dig his car out of a snow bank the following day, as they were predicting a heavy storm for the city and surrounding area that night. Four hours later he'd finally made it home.

To a very angry girlfriend.

"Taichi!" the sharp snap of her voice resounded in his head as he played through the scene again, involuntarily wincing as each time it came up the young woman made no effort to shorten his name, a sure sign that he was in trouble. It was such a stupid argument too, he'd practically forgotten what it was over, but, stupid or not, it had finally pushed him over the edge, he'd had enough.

"Woman," he'd started, in his best threatening voice, earning a _very_ surprised look from the lady in question, her breath seeming to catch in her throat as he said it. Oh, he regretted it immediately, but when he got on a roll, it was nearly impossible to stop, and it would take more than a hurt look to make him hold back the storm. "I don't work ten hours or more six days a week just to come home and hear you complain about how I don't do little bullshit things to make your life easier, I get more than enough of that from my rubber-dicked boss and the shit storm he puts me through every day. I don't see you taking any steps to get back on your feet at the moment, so I'm doing all I can to keep everything we've worked for together, so you can just cram it up your ass, Princess!"

The silence that passed between them was the loudest thing he'd ever heard, worse than the time that she stormed out of his first apartment with him not even three steps behind, trying to apologize for his idiocy. Of course, she'd tricked him and then slammed the door, _his door_, right into his face, leaving him half naked on the fifth floor of the complex. They'd made up though, even if they were a little cold towards one another for the next few days, both of them knew they wouldn't be able to stay mad, they realized a long time ago that they each needed the other. The make-up sex had been absolutely delicious though, but this was entirely different, this wasn't a boiling silence or a prelude to a storm. This was dead, devoid of anything even the constant humming and spitting of the heating unit pumping glorious warm air into what would be an otherwise chilly home.

He'd tried to open his mouth to apologize, but his voice just wouldn't come, and he'd realized why after several more attempts to speak, because he'd meant every word. He really did think he was better than her, simply because he happened to be working and keeping her with him while she struggled to find her 'new niche' in life, after the last had been so promptly pulled out from under her. The burning in the pit of his stomach changed from anger and frustration to disgust and self loathing, this was the woman he'd risked everything for, and suddenly he was placing himself on a higher plane.

Who was the one he'd confessed to, who promptly slapped him, saying he ruined everything because she wanted to do it first? Who had accepted him unconditionally, despite being a bit of a brute and a loud mouth, not to mention lazy and short tempered? Who had held him back when he caught Takeru with another woman, and managed to get the truth out of that sordid mystery? Her. Her. Her. Every, single, time. The most beautiful woman he'd ever had the privilege to lay his eyes on, who made his heart jump into his throat every time she whispered his name in her sleep.

"Taichi," she'd muttered, the pressure the silence held around them somehow becoming worse once broken, trying her best not to cry as she looked up at him, biting her lip, obviously conflicted with her own feelings at the moment. "…We'll sort this out tomorrow. I don't want any more shouting tonight." And he'd simply nodded mutely in agreement.

Apparently, no more shouting also included no more speaking, as the two had eaten in silence, Tai glancing up from time to time to try and catch her chancing anything at him, a peek, a longing stare, hell even a glare would be better than this, but nothing ever came. It was crushing his heart, but he couldn't bring himself to apologize, call it his stubbornness, the pride he'd held throughout his entire life, or simply being too paralyzed to make a step forward. They'd made it through worse, certainly, but something told him that this was different, that the stars were in just the right place, during the right time of the year, and his words had changed everything, brought it all crashing down around his ears.

She'd eaten quickly, excusing herself as she said she had something to take care of, leaving him to finish his meal in silence, and now here they were, she having joined him in the bed sometime during the time his thoughts lingered on the events of the day. She turned her back to him, pink nighty clinging to her as she murmured, "Good night Taichi."

"Good night, Mimi," he said back quietly, his heart breaking at the sound of her voice. Apologizing for what he said, it simply didn't seem to be enough and it never would be, not for her. For her it would have to be something special, something honest and from the heart, something that would get her to slap him across the face before burying hers into his chest, sobbing in relief. And he didn't know how to do it.

So he slept on it.

At least, he was asleep, actually finding a degree of mild comfort in the dreamless rest, until a few minutes after three, when a sudden chill overtook his body. He tried to ignore it, curling up tighter, refusing to turn to Mimi for warmth, but the drop in temperature only continued. And then bottomed out without warning causing him to sit up with a start, rubbing his hands against his arms to try and warm up, hard brown eyes scanning the mostly dark room, a slight illumination from the digital clock, though he was too tired to really care what it was exactly. Feeling around, he found the retreating blanket and tried to pull it back to cover him, eliciting a slight sound from his bed partner, Mimi squirming and pulling the blanket out of his grasp but still managing to stay asleep. After a few more brief tugs, he decided the effort simply wasn't worth it and lay down, trying to sleep again.

That didn't work too well either, leaving his teeth chattering within a few moments as he climbed out of the just large enough bed, careful not to wake his girlfriend. Running a hand through the mess of chocolate brown he called hair, Tai left the room, moving about and trying to get his blood pumping again while he thought of a solution. There were always other blankets, and if worse came to worse, he could always sleep on the couch, though the bed would be more comfortable. With his new objective in mind, and quite certain he had outsmarted the sleeping beauty, he marched to the linen closet, throwing it open with a quiet cry of victory only to blink in confusion.

"… It's… empty." A chill ran up his spine as he glanced around uselessly, eyes wide. "They're, not here. No blankets." Squatting down, he glanced about in a lower section, still muttering to himself. "No sheets, not even any towels. What the hell is going on here?" Grumbling quietly, he gave the closet one last look over before closing the door with a sigh, leaning his head back against the wall. One set of sheets in the whole house, and the one woman he didn't want to, no, the one woman he couldn't talk to, had taken them all to herself. Rubbing his forehead, Taichi sighed and walked back into the bedroom, pausing a moment to see the overly content smile on his lover's face, the blanket and sheets having become far more form fitting than they'd been originally, going so far as to show slight indications of her beautiful curves.

"Tch…" he grunted, shaking his head as he reached down, touching her forehead gingerly with a slight smile. "I can't stay upset at her when she's like that. You're just too cute for me, Mimi." Walking around to the other side, he sat down lightly on the bed, tensing as another sound came from the slightly pale woman, honey blonde hair shifting slightly with her body as she cracked an eye over her shoulder.

"Nn, Taichi?" she murmured, smiling weakly. "You're awake… getting ready for work so soon?"

The sound of her teasing did wonders for the chill in his bones, bringing a slight grin to his face despite the tiredness. "Yeah Meems, I thought I might get an early start."

"Well, I'm sure the boss will love you for being aggressive, but you spend way too much time at work, it's like you've forgotten what's important."

Another shot to the heart, a grimace flashing across his face for an instant before he nodded slightly, his face returning to a neutral position. "Probably, but we do need to keep the money coming in, this place isn't going to pay for itself, ya'know." She met him with a sharp nod, rolling over onto her back and looking up at him, though the sheets weren't giving an inch, quite content to stay wrapped around her.

"So why are you really up Tai?" she asked, soft amber eyes meeting his, a concerned look on her face, though her eyes were obviously intent, expecting. "Something's bothering you, isn't it?"

"I…" the words caught in his throat as the moon broke through the clouds, giving the room a slight hint of light, cutting through the white powder that was falling outside the window. She was incredible, but that wasn't any different than usual, except that look of hope, that maybe he would finally apologize to her, make everything right.

"Taichi?" she breathed, eyes widening expectantly.

"…You took the sheets," he finally coughed out, earning a raised eyebrow from the young woman in his bed. "It's… really cold tonight and, I was wondering what you did with the linens."

"Oh, those," Mimi said, her face dropping slightly. "They were filthy Tai, they hadn't been washed in ages, so I finally decided that it was time to be proactive. If you want to move them into the dryer, they'll probably be done in a little over an hour or two." And she promptly rolled back onto her side.

"T-two hours?" he managed to spit out before she looked back at him again. "Mimi, it'll be five by then, and I'll only have an hour more of sleep. Can't we just share the sheets like usual?"

Giving him the once over, Mimi looked down at herself, warm and cozy, then back up to her boyfriend, wetting her lips slightly with her tongue as she pouted adorably. "But… Taichi. Then I'll be _cold_. I need these to stay warm tonight."

He sighed, sitting back down on the bed again and making her jump slightly as the springs reacted, doing her best to hide a smile, knowing what was coming next. Tai struggled for a few long moments, almost two minutes according to the red digits next to him, before finally sighing in resignation. He'd finally figured out what to say.

"…Mimi, I'm sorry." He paused, looking over his shoulder, her smile disappearing with the movement as she switched to watching him intently. He gave a self-defeating smirk, knowing she wanted to hear more. And just like every time before, and every time after, he would cave. "I'll start doing my laundry more than once a month."

Mimi grinned, laughing and flinging her arms around him excitedly, the sheets all but forgotten as she pulled him down for a deep, loving kiss, the gold band that held the diamond he'd bought for her two months ago pressing against his flushed cheek. Her breath caught in her throat as he responded, pulling her back up against him, making a quiet, helpless sound against his affections. It was another five minutes before she finally pulled back, the confident smirk he'd worn for years growing up becoming a more and more common sight on her delicate face.

"And that, Taichi Yagami, is why I will _always_ win a fight with you," she winked, giving him another soft kiss. "You spoil me too much and can't make it an entire day without me. I forgive you for being an obnoxious brat and in a foul mood last night though." Nodding sagely, she giggled, tucking her head under his chin before reaching back and pulling the blanket around them.

There was a long, much more comfortable, silence this time, the two of them simply savoring the warmth between them, cocooned in the blanket. At any other time, their relationship might have shattered after his outburst, she would have run away crying, and he would have left to sulk. But that wasn't how two people engaged to one another should act, and one simply couldn't run away from problems in a marriage, they'd promised, that night he put the ring on her finger, no more running away or hiding when things got rough.

Mimi finally broke the silence, brushing her cheek against his neck lightly. "I'll make a decent husband out of you yet Taichi. We'll get started on laundry when you get home from work tomorrow. And about that, you know that we can survive anything they throw at us, the two of us together, please, just consider getting out, I don't like what it's doing to my sweet Tai," she smiled, her voice trailing off.

"I should get to sleep," he grumbled, glancing at the clock and trying to hide his blush in the dim light. "I got chewed out for being late yesterday, I'm not sure I want to go through that again."

Sitting in his lap she began pouting again, nibbling at his neck slightly. "Tai, you won't be a little late to work one more time, not even for me?" her voice cooed up, just barely audible, sounding as sweet as honey. "I promise I won't make you _that_ late…"

Unable resist the obvious trap or able to hide the smile on his face, Tai leaned down and kissed his fiancée again.

Taichi ended up being quite late into work that morning.

-------------------------

End Notes: I appreciate you making it through to the finish, and hoped that you enjoyed reading. In case you're wondering, I do in fact have some, mostly stand alone, stories relating to this spinning in my head, but if you'd like to see more, I wouldn't mind you leaving a review saying as much.

It's been a while since I've shared anything I've written, so criticism will be met with consideration as it relates to improvement. Responses will go up in the profile, unless I take a proactive approach and decide to contact you.

A 'Your story sucks' is fine too, just don't expect me to honor it with much more than a few arrow clicks to get to the next review.


End file.
